Deadly Deceptions
by aquickdisguise
Summary: Zanna's dad left years ago, her mum just committed suicide. When the Turtles save her life she forms an unlikey alliance, but who are they fighting? And what has her bro' been up to in California these past nine months? Rated for some violence and languag
1. A Death in the Family

**Author's Note:**

Okay! Well, this is the 'idea whizzing round in my head'. It's a lot longer that the other shorts I've written (or hopefully it will be...) but it hasn't actually been planned on paper yet so wish me luck (although some bits and pieces have been playing in my mind like a movie over and over and over again…) The genre is a bit undecided… I'm trying to fit a little bit of everything in, but still keep it readable. Reviewing helps a LOT! (hint hint!)

Warning: Suicide references inside. Please do not read if you have any issues with this. I have had experience in the matter, so if you need someone to talk to, I'm here and happy to help.

**Disclaimer**: TMNT ain't mine… but Zanna and Dave are! Hurrah for original chars!

Here we go!!

* * *

Zanna scooped her short dark hair from her face and blinked the salty tears from her deep brown eyes. What the hell had happened? She had walked home feeling on top of the world; her day couldn't have been better. She was going to get home, hug her 23-year-old brother Dave, who had moved to California nine months ago and was back for his birthday, and celebrate a day well spent with her crush with a take-out pizza. But that's not how it happened. 

She had unlocked the door and walked through into the kitchen. She remembered going for the nearest knife, and cutting the rope. She had torn the fibres away from her mother's throat and listened for a heartbeat. Finding none, she had tried CPR until her vision blurred so much it was impossible to see. And that's when Dave had walked in. Put a hand on her shoulder and called the police…

Needless to say, it was impossible to sleep, so here she was, seven hours later, out on the streets of New York, desperately trying to rid her mind of the deathly image. Dave had locked himself in his old room, sitting in an uncharacteristic silence and letting tears run silently over his cheeks.

She sighed deeply and folded her arms against the cold. She was still dressed in her school uniform, but it didn't matter to her anymore. Nothing mattered. She knew her mother was unstable… ever since papa left something clicked in her. Made her take the first joint, allowed her to chug down the alcohol, but she was over that… wasn't she? Obviously not.

Zanna stiffened at a sound behind her. Footsteps. She took a brief glance over her shoulder and saw a bloke around twenty dressed in a tee 'n' jeans topped with a low-pulled baseball cap leaning casually against the wall. But the peak of his cap told Zanna he was looking her way. She scowled and kept walking. And he followed.

Within seconds he was at her side. "Hey there, good lookin'."

"Get lost." She snapped viciously. If there was one thing she really didn't need, it was some idiot giving her cheek.

"Hey!" He took a step back and raised his arms as if offended. "Not you're night tonight is it?"

She ignored him and kept walking, picking up her pace. This could have been filed under 'mistake number one'. Suddenly she was pressed against the side of a building, and the baseball-cap-guy was in her face. "You ignorin' me, sugar? 'Cause you don't wanna do that. I ain't done nothin' 'cept be nice to ya."

She looked at him squarely and pushed him away. "I'm really not in the mood for this." She muttered, attempting to leave. Mistake number two.

He grabbed her wrist and slapped her forcefully across the face. "Well I'm not in the mood for you to be a pain in the ass. Me 'n' the boys oughta teach you a thing or two about messin' with strangers."

On cue, a gang of around six lads emerged from the back of the alley. Zanna recognised them immediately. They called themselves the 'Purple Dragons', and prided themselves on being the most well-known street gang in NY. She was roughly pulled into the alley, where a knife was produced and a bloke sporting a goatee demanded her money.

"I'm broke." She said, flatly, her eyes following the knife. Not exactly the answer the dragons were looking for. The bloke with the goatee grimaced and lowered the knife for a second. Without realising she'd been holding it, Zanna let out a slow breath.

Mistake the third. Caught off guard, she was pulled into a headlock by the kid with the cap. "Well, maybe you could give us something else…" He muttered in her ear. And that was his first mistake.

Zanna's eyes flashed dangerously. "I said: _I'm not in the mood for this._" She growled, digging her elbow into the side of her captor. He let go immediately and doubled over, winded. She rushed forwards out of his grasp and dodged a baseball bat aimed at her head. Turning at the last minute, she swung round and delivered a swift knee into the stomach of the wielder. She caught the bat before it hit the ground and aimed it at the knees of another 'gangster'. He jumped, but not quickly enough, and tripped over the bat, landing flat on his face with a crunch that signified a broken nose. Zanna ran to the nearest wall and put her back against it, and let the dragons come to her. Goatee-man came at her with his pocket knife and she deflected it with her bat. But he was used to fist-fights, and while Zanna had watched the guys at school get rough, she'd never been in one herself. He ducked her next blow and bobbed up in front of her, sticking the knife into her bat-arm and swiftly removing it before bringing the knife to her throat.

"That was a naughty thing to do." He gloated. "You really shouldn't have-" He was cut off suddenly as a wooden stick on a chain hit him soundly in the back of the head. He crumpled on the ground, and Zanna stood facing a very large and seemingly deformed man. Her eyes widened and she transferred her bat to her left hand. In an instinctive reaction, she swung the bat towards the head of her saviour and the resounding crack sent him flying.

"Mikey?!" A cry came from somewhere above her. She looked up, eyes darting wildly and chest heaving. Her right arm hurt like hell, but she prepared herself for another onslaught and crept further into the shadows. A second 'thing' dropped down from the roof of the building and rushed to the side of his fellow. "What the hell happened to you? It was just a gang of Purplies."

The thing on the floor looked up, and Zanna realised they were both wearing bandanas across their eyes like a mask. Not only that, but they both appeared to be wearing some sort of green outfit and shells on their backs like turtles! The orange-banded 'turtle' held out a three-fingered hand and was helped up by the one in red. "It's not the dragons who were a problem, Raph, it's the chick they had. She full-on cracked me one. Some thanks for saving her life, pfft. She was at knife-point an' all."

The turtle-wannabe called 'Raph' looked around. "Where'd she go?" He asked. 'Mikey' shrugged as two more strangely dressed people jumped down from the roof.

"What's doing, guys?" One of them asked.

"Tryin' to find the chick who whacked Mike." Raph answered.

"Y'know, I don't think she left the alley… Check over there, Donny" Mikey added, dusting himself off and motioning to the shadows.

Zanna pressed herself further into the shadows, and tripped over a loose brick. She stumbled backwards and hit a dustbin. "Shit…"

Immediately, the turtles headed in her direction. Donny got there first, and held out a hand to help her up. From Zanna's perspective, it looked as though he was reaching out to hit her. She took one look at him and smashed the bat on the offending hand, leaping up and backing away. Raph growled and pulled out a weirdy-knife-thing. It looked like a mini-trident. Zanna squeaked and held the bat up defensively.

"Raph let her be. She doesn't mean us any harm." This order came from a turtle who hadn't spoken before. He took a step forward and addressed Zanna. "I'm Leonardo. And my brothers are Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. We're not with them." He motioned to the unconscious forms of the Purple Dragons. "You ok?" He asked, smiling.

Zanna's nervous eyes flicked from Leo to Raph. At a nod from the former, Raph sheathed his daggers. Leo smiled. "They're called sais." He informed her. "We're a ninja team. And…" He looked at his brothers, "also mutant turtles… but we're here to help. Mikey cleaned the rest of 'em up for you…Not that you weren't doing so bad yourself."

The frightened teen lowered her bat and cautiously held out her hand. Leo shook it warmly, and Raph and the rest followed. "I'm Suzanna. Zanna. Thanks… and sorry…" She motioned to Mikey and Don, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Aw, man, check out her arm!" Mikey said, seeing the stained white sleeve of her school shirt. He stepped forwards and reached out. She drew away sharply, and winced. Now her adrenaline rush had somewhat subsided, it gave her muscles a chance to send pain sensations to her brain. And with the pain came an overwhelming headache.

"Here." Donny said, tearing a piece of material from the end of his purple bandana. "Let me see if I can…" He trailed off, taking her arm and tying the material around her arm like a bandage. He stopped as the purple cloth quickly turned a dark shade of red. Donny's face turned grave. "You're loosing blood fast." He commented, looking up at her with concern. "Do you feel faint?"

Zanna looked at her sleeve which was mostly drenched. The headache worsened. She nodded and closed her eyes, holding onto Donny. "I'm ok, I think… I just have a problem with seeing large amounts of my own blood…" She murmured.

The turtle sat her down and turned to Leo. "We should get her back to the lair. If she doesn't pass out now, she will soon." He crouched down to eye level with Zanna. "We're taking you to our place. I can help you there." He said clearly. The girl nodded and made to stand, but her vision clouded and she slumped back down again.

Raph stepped forward. "Don't worry, I got her." And with that, he scooped up the dazed human and nodded towards the nearest manhole. "Let's go."

--

Zanna woke up lying on a couch. The right side of her body tingled and she couldn't feel her arm at all. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, taking a moment to let the events of the last few hours sink in. She attempted to sit up and immediately felt a rush of blood leaving her head. She could hear the sound of a TV on low volume, and as she settled into the feeling of being upright, saw a napping turtle on the end of the couch. Was it Mikey with the purple bandana… no, Donny. That was it.

For the first time, she properly saw what they looked like. She smiled in relief. To be honest, they looked like sleeping cats. The curve of Donny's neck was lean and muscular, but not enough to look threatening… well not in sleep, anyway. The same could be said for his limbs. His shell curved neatly round his shoulders and joined his plastron just below his arms. 'Mutant' was not a word Zanna would have used to describe them… 'Sculpted' seemed more fitting. Sculpted as if by the artists they were named after. The turtle murmured something in his sleep and sighed deeply. He smiled gently and shufted to a more comfortable position. Zanna smiled and swung her legs off the couch. She wrapped herself in a blanket and stood up. She wandered over to what appeared to be the kitchen and found a note addressed to her on the table.

_Zanna- Help yourself to food & drink. If you're anything like Donny or Leo, you'll probably want a cup of tea. Kettle's on the side and teabags are in the pot next to it. Same with sugar. Milk's in the fridge. Biscuits are… who knows where, but have a look around. They'll turn up._

_-The turtles_

_PS. If you see a giant rat, that's Master Splinter, our Sensei. He's cool._

Zanna read through it again, a puzzled expression growing on her face.

_A giant rat? Of course. With every team of teenage mutant ninja turtles came a rat sensei. Gosh, Zanna, get with the times!_

She put the kettle on, filling it all the way up in case any of the turtles, or their Sensei woke up. She looked around for a clock and found one on the microwave. Ten past ten. She had no idea if that was morning or evening though. She looked for a window, and realised there wasn't one. In fact, she noted, the lair looked as if it had been carved out of something. A cave, perhaps? Or underground!

The whistle of the kettle halted her thoughts and she poured herself a mug. A yawn from behind her told her she had company. "Do you want a cup of tea?" She asked without turning. She had no reply and figured if the turtle wanted one he would get it himself. She took out the tea bag and turned to find the bin, and found herself face-to-face with the open fridge door.

Raph appeared from the other side. "Oh, hey!" He grinned. "Sorry about the time. My fault. I think I mighta given you a slightly too large dose of…uh… that stuff that puts you to sleep. Donny's the genius here, but he was up to his elbows in blood…" He saw Zanna's worried face and stopped. "You right?"

"The time?" She repeated, looking worried. "How long have I…?"

"About a day." Raph delved into the fridge again and retrieved a large bottle of soft drink. He placed it on the small table with a thud. "You gotta get back?"

Zanna nodded frantically. "Yeah, my brother must be worried sick!" She wrung her hands and danced a little jig.

"Your brother?" Donny had woken up and wandered into the kitchen. He indicated the kettle. "You done with this?" Zanna nodded and picked up her mug, taking a cautious sip. Donny found a teabag and poured the water in. "What about your parents?"

The reaction the turtles got from this was unexpected to say the least. There was a smash of pottery as Zanna dropped her mug and followed it to the floor, slumping dejectedly amongst the fragments of clay. She held an arm over her face and curled up defensively. The ninjas looked at each other worriedly and crouched down.

"What's going on?" Leo entered the room and hurried over to the small crowd on the floor. Donny, who had placed a gentle hand on the teens shoulder, looked up and shrugged. Raph stood up to talk to Leo, leaving Donny and Zanna alone.

"Hey…" Donny said gently, pushing Zanna's hair from her face. Her body wracked with sobs and she hung her head lower, if it was possible. The mutant had never had to deal with such a large amount of grief before, and he was, frankly, perplexed. He had no idea what to do. Zanna seemed to solve his problem for him, reaching out and clasping her arms around his shoulders. He tentatively patted her back and her grip tightened.

"My dad left…" She sniffed, still buried in Donny's leathery shoulder. "And my mum… she… I found her… and… couldn't… I- Dave-we…" Unable to finish her sentence she broke into fresh tears. To say it aloud would make it final. It would mean she had accepted it. For whatever reason, her mother had thought it better to end her life on the end of a rope than to bear it out with her kids. Now that she thought about it, Zanna realised the more serious implications. She was coming to the end of her penultimate school year- what would she do with her finals? And Dave didn't have enough money to support them both… well, not in New York anyway.

Donny knew what it was like to be orphaned, to some extent. He'd had the occasional thought as to his biological parents… but even if he did find them, they were as good as a different species. Splinter was better than a parent though. Donny couldn't imagine life without the old rat… and didn't want to. He gave Zanna a squeeze as the thought crossed his mind.

"Alright, guys, let's get this cleaned up…" Leo trailed off seeing the two teenagers embrace. He grinned as Donny pulled away, embarrassed. The turtle pulled out a chair and gave Zanna his cup of tea. He could always make another later. Leo pulled out a dustpan and brush and began to sweep up the shattered mug. Donny went to help but was stopped by the teen.

"I'm sorry." She choked, wiping her eyes. A tissue was handed to her immediately. "I didn't mean to startle you… it's just I hadn't really remembered… and then it all came back so sudden, and… I gotta get home." She finished with a deep sigh, and looked at her school shirt. For the first time, she realised her arm was in bandages and her previously long-sleeved shirt had been ripped carefully at the shoulder to accommodate the bulk.

Donny looked guiltily at her. "I couldn't get to the wound so I had Raph tear it up… Um… did you want a shower? We can at least take you home in some clean kit." He motioned to her still stained shirt. She nodded and gratefully followed Donny to the bathroom.

---

The powerful spray of water felt good. Zanna put her hands against the wall and sighed. _Pull yourself together, _she told herself, taking a deep breath. _Step one- find Dave. Tell him you're okay. Step two…play by ear…_

She lifted her face upwards and took the water head-on. It washed the dirt and blood off her face and arms, but although her stitches were wrapped in cling-wrap, which Donny had assured her would keep them safe from the water, the pressure was like a thousand needles. She turned the water off and stepped out, wrapping herself in a white towel. She peeled away the cling-wrap from her arm and tossed it into the bin. She looked up and found herself face-to-face with her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Her hair was almost black when it was wet and it hung limply around her face, ending just above her chin. Hey normally bright eyes were dull, and looked more grey than brown. She smiled slightly, letting the corner of her mouth turn upwards, but the expression looked false. She couldn't call herself pretty, or hot, or beautiful, or any other kind of 'good-looking', but she wasn't completely unfortunate. She looked street-wise, she decided, turning away and towelling herself dry. She almost reached out to find her clothes, but remembered they were in the wash.

She opened the door and stuck her head out of the steamy bathroom. "Um? Hello? Donny? Raph? Can anyone tell me where the washing machine is?"

She was answered by an old and wise voice, "Not Donny or Raph, I'm afraid. But I can tell you where the machine is…" Splinter stopped as he rounded the corner. "I'm guessing your attire is currently in said machine." He said, motioning towards her towel. Zanna nodded, taking in the giant rat. _What was his name? Sensei Sss… oh, god, come ON! It wasn't that hard…_ She thought frantically for the Sensei's name, but he saved her. "You stay there. I'll collect your laundry. It's bad enough being in the home of five mutants- you needn't embarrass yourself further by wandering around in merely a towel." The rat turned on his heel, kimono swishing behind him and strode away.

"Thanks, Splinter!" Zanna called, finally remembering the rats name. She withdrew into the bathroom, and almost immediately there was a knock on the door.

"Zanna?" It was Raph. "Any chance I could use the bathroom if you're done?"

The teen sighed and adjusted her towel before opening the door. "Sure thing, Raph." She stepped out, ruffling her hair experimentally. Raph grinned at her and slipped into the bathroom. For a six-foot mutant turtle, he did it with grace.

She stood patiently out side, and was soon joined by Splinter, carrying not, as she'd expected, her uniform, but a pair of old jeans and a large soccer shirt. "There wasn't anything in the machine…"

"Uh, my fault, sorry. It wouldn't come clean so I figured it'd be safer to burn it." Raph's voice echoed from the bathroom. Zanna raised her eyebrow at the rat, who smiled gently in return.

"But here, these are Mikey's. He's the smallest of the four, he out grew them last year." Splinter handed over the clothes and saw Zanna's puzzled expression. "I know they don't actually _wear_ clothes- it's so they can blend in with the crowd up top." He indicated the roof.

"So we _are_ underground! Thought so." Zanna voiced her thoughts aloud.

"Why, yes. We live in constant hiding and this is our lair…" The sensei gave a wry smile. "That sounded far more exciting that it really is. We're approximately two meters under the surface of New York city- in the sewers."

Zanna grinned. "Nice place for the sewers." She commented, looking around. She would have thought there'd be a stench, or slime on the walls, but the lair seemed to be pretty well-kept.

"Ah, all thanks to Donatello. He's our handy-man around here. He's installed ventilation, set up security systems, fixed the plumbing who knows how many times, repaired the TV…"

Splinter stopped as Donny rounded the corner. "Did someone call me?"

There was the sound of a catch being undone and Raph stepped out of the bathroom. "Nice gear." He said, with that cheeky grin of his.

"Oy! Who nicked off with me top-side gear?" Mikey came sprinting towards them looking indignant, as Leo stuck his head round the corner and hailed the Sensei.

Zanna looked around and blushed. "Now, when you said I _wouldn't_ have to walk round in a towel… what exactly did you mean by that?"

Splinter immediately ushered his sons away. "Well, I had hoped the family would leave well alone… but they haven't had a girl other than April in here in… well, ever." Splinter grinned as his sons collectively blushed.

"It's not that…" Leo tried to explain, annoyed that his Sensei would embarrass them all. Zanna seemed to think the situation was awkward enough too, and she disappeared inside the bathroom to get changed. She examined the clothes and grinned. Splinter had given her a pair of boxer shorts.

The turtles gathered in the lounge, and Donny began strapping on his pads. Splinter raised an eyebrow in question, which was mimicked by his brothers. "I thought I'd take Zanna back." He explained, grasping his Bo and slinging it over his back. "She doesn't know the way out and he's not in any state to be wandering the streets on her own."

Raph grinned and punched his brother's shoulders lightly. "You mean you want to walk her home." He teased.

Don's face turned into a playful smile and he returned Raph's punch a little harder. "No! I had hoped I'd have the company of one of you guys. Just in case we bump into anything nasty." Raph blocked this blow and a sai flashed out. Donny's Bo followed and they threw a few friendly blows at each other.

"Who's gonna bump into anything nasty?" Zanna emerged in her oversized clothes, looking from one turtle to the other.

Raph stopped and sheathed his sais with a sharp flick of his wrist. "C'mon then, Donny. Let's go." Donny straightened from his defensive stance and nodded.

"You ready?" He asked, looking at Zanna. She nodded and sighed.

"Yup. Time to face the music." She smiled and joined Raph at the door and nodded. "Let's go." She agreed.

They were almost out the door when Mikey bounded up. "Can I come too?" He asked, grinning widely.

Don rolled his eyes and nodded. He looked at Leo "You too?"

Leo looked at Splinter and nodded. "Yeah, someone's gotta keep you guys in check. We can train after if you like, seeing as yesterday's was cut short."

Raph grinned. "Yeah. Train…" He ushered Zanna out into the sewers. "Just stick to the edges." He pointed out a narrow pathway either side of the sewer-stream. "We'll go most of the way underground and…" He hesitated and squinted ahead of him. Deciding it was nothing, he carried on, but didn't take his eyes off the shadows. "Then we'll go by…" He stopped again, and suddenly threw Zanna down in front of him ad held out a hand to stop the flying star that was aimed at the teen. "Heads up, boys! We got company!" Raph ripped the star out of his hand with his teeth and grimaced, sprinting forwards. He spat out the star and pulled his sais.

The ninja team split up- Leo dived into the water and crossed the sewer with ease, pulling himself up the other side and melting into the shadows, Mikey leapt for the roof and swung from the various pipes that ran along it, and Donny stooped to help Zanna.

He dusted the teen off and then pushed her into a crevice. "Stay there." He whispered. "Something's crook." He pressed three shurikens into the teen's hand. "It's all I've got on me. Yell if anything happens, ok?"

Zanna nodded uncertainly and picked up a star. "I just throw it, right?" She swallowed, unsure if she really wanted to stick someone with the metal shards.

Donny nodded and his brow furrowed with concern. "Sure you're ok?"

"Donny where are ya, mate?! I could use a little help here!" Raph's somewhat ticked voice echoed down the sewer. Zanna pushed the turtle towards his brothers.

"Yes! Go! Before Raph goes nuclear on u-" Zanna was cut off by Raph bellowing his brother again. She raised an eyebrow in a 'oh, too late' expression. Donny gave a sad smile and sprinted off to join his brothers.

Zanna took a closer look at the stars, holding them between two fingers. The four-pointed shurikens sported serrated edges which narrowed to sharp point. A design was carved into the metal and there was a Japanese character on each one. She didn't have time for much more speculation, because a hand blocked her mouth and she felt herself being lifted up.

She fumbled for her stars and managed to grasp one between her middle fingers. She flicked her wrist and cut the arm of whoever was hold her. She fell to the ground and scrambled backwards. A man wearing a black skin tight suit stepped from the shadows towards her holding a blade like the ones Leo used. He raised it, ready to strike, and Zanna's eyes grew wide.

"Holy…HELP! Guys! Donny! Raph! HELP!! LEO! MIKEY!" She dodged the first blow, and instinctively threw a star. The sinewy figure dodged it and leapt towards her, angered. Zanna stumbled to her feet and sprinted away, the ninja close on her heels. In a surge of desperation, she flung herself into the filthy water. Unlike Leo, however, she didn't have the skill or muscle to resist the current, and her baggy clothes dragged her down. She was quickly swept away from the turtles and their mysterious foe, struggling to stay afloat.

"ZANNA!"

The scream of her name was the last thing she heard before she went under.

* * *

BAHA! Cliff-hanger! Just to make sure you all come back next time! Hehe…. Boxer shorts... Obviously Splinter hasn't had female company in a while either!! 

Read and Review? Yes please!


	2. Unwanted Visitors

Just to recap…

_A man wearing a black skin tight suit stepped from the shadows towards her holding a blade like the ones Leo used. He raised it, ready to strike, and Zanna's eyes grew wide._

"_Holy…HELP! Guys! Donny! Raph! HELP!! LEO! MIKEY!" She dodged the first blow, and instinctively threw a star. The sinewy figure dodged it and leapt towards her, angered. Zanna stumbled to her feet and sprinted away, the ninja close on her heels. In a surge of desperation, she flung herself into the filthy water. Unlike Leo, however, she didn't have the skill or muscle to resist the current, and was swept away from the turtles and their mysterious foe. _

"_ZANNA!" _

_The scream of her name was the last thing she heard before she went under._

DUN DUN DUUUUN!

Now for Chaptah Two!

PS. Motorbike ride soundtracked to "Ya mama" by Fatboy Slim (yup, that's a very small Charlie's Angels reference… shuttup).

PPS. I love having supreme authorial control. Prepare to have your minds messed with- you characters are at my mercy! evil laugh and manic grin

**Disclaimer:** TMNT are not mine. And neither is their Lair. Or New York. Or Raph's bike. Or the Fatboy Slim song 'Ya Mama'... Or the sewers (although why anyone would want to own them is beyond me)

Claimer (?): Zanna 'n' Dave are mine. You can use them if you really want. (I'd be honoured) Just let me know so I can see what they get up to

* * *

Mikey dived into the water, leaving Don to take care of the ninja. Leo and Raph were still caught up with the team that had been waiting for them further up. He swam powerfully towards the struggling teen and dived under, grasping her beneath her arms and dragging her upwards. They hit the surface with a splash and Mikey heaved Zanna onto the ledge. He put an ear to her chest and panic welled inside him. _Oh god, oh god, oh god…_ His thoughts echoed his heartbeat , which thundered somewhere in his throat. 

"DONNY!" When he finally found words, it was his brother and his medical knowledge he called for.

The purple-banded turtle was at his side in seconds. "Is she breathing?" Mikey shook his head. "Pulse?" Mikey shook his head again, fighting to keep from crying. He didn't handle life or death situations very well, and one of his chief fears was drowning. That and loosing his skateboard.

Donny's face was set grimly and he straightened the teen, beginning mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Zanna's chest rose as Donny breathed out. The turtle straightened to check for any signs of life, and blew again. Then he started compressions, muttering a prayer under his breath.

"Come on, Zanna…" Donny finished compressions and watched the teen for a second. Nothing. Donny repeated the resuscitation twice before he got any effect.

Mikey stopped him mid-breath. "Look!"

Donny straightened and watched. The teen was still limp. He didn't have the heart to tell Mikey that his breath had caused the girl to move. But then- her chest rose on its own, and Donny found himself victim to one of Mikey's legendary nuggies. He pushed his brother off- Zanna was coughing up water and she needed a clear airway to do so.

"Zanna? Can you hear me?" Donny leant over the girl and gently tipped her head to the side. Leo skidded round the corner followed by Raph.

"What's going on?" Leo fell to the floor with his brothers.

"Is Zanna okay?!" Raph joined them, wincing as he jarred his shoulder, which had been cleaved open.

"Yeah…" Zanna stopped to vomit sewer water over Donny's plastron and then grinned weakly. "I'm fine." She almost leapt on Donny, who almost had a heart attack.

Mikey couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Sure. Donny gets thanked first. Don't worry about the guy who jumped in after you…"

Zanna grinned, and immediately gave Mikey a kiss on the cheek and a quick hug. "You're very brave." She said, grinning over his shoulder.

Raph grinned back, and cocked an eyebrow. Zanna embraced the other two, thanking them in turn with a quick smile. "Alright then," Raph started, helping Zanna up. "It really _is_ time to get you home before we get you into more trouble."

Zanna nodded and shivered. She hugged herself to keep warm and trudged after the red-banded turtle. She was followed by Leo and Mikey, who stood either side of her like a guard. Donny took the back, and the group emerged from the nearest man-hole, looking round cautiously before heading into an alleyway.

"Can you hold on?" Donny indicated his shell. Zanna raised an eyebrow. "We need to get up to the roof, and I'm guessing you can't climb yourself." Zanna looked up at the building, trying to figure a way up. The thought of sitting on Donny's shell reminded her all too much of horse-riding, and what kind of a person _rode_ their friend? Donny seemed to sense her discomfort. "Don't worry… Ah, think of it as a piggy… well, turtle-back."

Zanna smiled; a piggy-back was a much more normal thought. But it wasn't just that. Donny had picked up on her unease and set it straight with a single sentence. She jumped on and gripped the rim of his shell. He grabbed her arm and placed it around his neck. "Steady on, you're gonna rip me shell off." His grin faltered for a second as he winced at the slight pain. "Ready?" He took her stunned silence as a yes, and leapt after his brothers.

The turtles hurtled over the rooftops, sometimes choosing to take Zanna's directions, other times ignoring her completely in favour of a more exciting route. Eventually, after more than enough wrong turns, they arrived at Zanna's building. Donny looked round cautiously before letting Zanna down. She grinned. "Well, _that_ was an experience and a half."

Donny looked down and handed her a strangely shaped phone. "Here. Just yell if you need anything. I'm on speed-dial… just press 3."

"Anything?" Zanna smiled, looking at the phone with interest.

"Well, withi-" Donny stopped and his eyes flashed playfully. "Yeah, anything." The turtle smiled to himself and turned to leave. His cell rang briefly and he answered it, turning back to Zanna.

She grinned and looked guiltily into his eyes. "How 'bout a goodbye hug?" She spoke quietly, but the shell-cell picked up her voice and it echoed through Donny's ear clearly. She smiled and held out her arms. Don hung up and embraced her. "Thanks, Donny." She whispered. "I'll see ya round."

She gave the turtle a peck on the cheek and disappeared inside her apartment.

Donny grinned and scaled the building, somersaulting over the edge and landing next to Raph, who ducked as the technical turtle leapfrogged him.

"Steady on…" Raph straightened up and put a hand on his shoulder. His wound was drying up and blood was still crusted around the outside.

Mikey grimaced and indicated the shoulder. "Sure you can train on that, Raph? It just looks _nasty_."

Leo stood up and pulled a face. "Yeah, that's ugly. We'd better get you back to the lair." He reached out, but Raph pulled away.

"It can wait. We train tonight." Raph stared at each of his brothers in turn, daring them to disagree. "I gotta score to settle with that bastard, and hell, next time I see him, he's gonna have a decent match comin' to him." The angered turtle's eyes narrowed and he leapt from the building onto the next roof. Leo, Don and Mikey exchanged worried glanced and followed the turtle out into the night.

--

Zanna unlocked her apartment and stepped inside. Dave was sat at the kitchen table, head in hands. He slammed a fist onto the wood, and his tearstained face was evident.

"Dave? You okay?" Zanna stepped forwards and embraced her brother.

He jumped and then turned, recognising his sister and let out a warped yelp. "Zanna! Oh god, I thought you'd gone too! Where've you been- Jesus Christ, don't _ever_ do that again! Just- I- Don't do that again!" His relief cracked his voice and he squeezed his sister. The he pulled away and looked at his damp shirt. "Why are you wet?"

Zanna grinned. "You wouldn't believe me." She said, pushing open her bedroom door and pulling off her shirt in favour of her p-jays. "But I ran into a street gang, and these uh… lads helped me out…" She got sidetracked as she fumbled with her shorts. "…yeah, and um… we went back to their place…and uh… then I fell… in… the… sewers…?" Zanna emerged into the kitchen where she grabbed a biscuit and began munching.

Dave laughed. "Yeah, you're right. I don't believe you. Okay, so you ran into a gang and some guys helped you- I get that. But the sewers, c'mon, you can lie better than that." He grinned and put the kettle on. "I'm making coffee, hope that's okay." He looked over his shoulder and Zanna nodded. "So… these guys… they nice? Good-lookin'?" He sat down and nudged his sister. "You make out with any of 'em?"

Zanna hit him. "No! Not cool, Dave!" A really wrong image popped into her mind and she squeaked. "Eweweww! Shuttup! Get outta my head! See what you've done, Dave? You've got me thinking things!" She wriggled in her seat and stood up, grinning. Then her face fell and she became serious. "God, I'm so glad you're here." She said quietly. "You know if you'd still been in California, I dunno if I'd be able to cope." Dave gave her a sad smile and beckoned her to sit down. She took a seat and leaned on her brother's shoulder. "It's a bloody rotten birthday you're having." She murmured.

Dave grinned. He'd completely forgotten his birthday. Funny how these things creep up on you. "Yep, I'll say. But you know what? We should go out tomorrow. We can get out of New York and find somewhere. You don't wanna go back to school yet, I guess." Zanna shook her head. "So maybe we'll take the mini and go for a drive."

Zanna looked up at him "The mini? The old decrepit mini that's sat in the basement for fifteen years and not been used once?"

Dave smiled. "Yeah. I loved that car. Dad used to take us on these huge road trips in it and we'd pile everything on the roof and- well, anyway, I thought the mini would make a cool change."

Zanna opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a sharp bang on the window. The siblings turned, eyes wide and searching. Dave stood up and opened the window, looking down first and then upwards. A small black form disappeared from the edge of the roof. He withdrew and locked the window. "Looked like a cat or something up top." He said, with a shrug of his shoulders. "It's nothing, probably just a bird flying wonky."

But Zanna knew better. She moved to the front door and turned the catch. "Help me lock up." She instructed. Dave's eyebrows flew up. "I'm serious. Lock everything- I don't want anything getting in here- or out." She snapped her head round, searching the apartment.

Dave was genuinely worried for his sister. "Zanna there's no-one in here. Just us. And I swear that was a cat."

Zanna looked at him, arms akimbo. "Did you hear it 'meow'?"

Dave was perplexed. "No- What? Did I what? Hear it meo- look Zanna, what's goin-"

"Exactly!" Zanna finished the kitchen and lounge and moved into the bathroom. She balanced on the edge of the bath and closed the window. Not that it was big enough to fit a person through, but she wasn't taking chances. If those weird ninja blokes followed her home, she wasn't going to leave the door wide open for them. She could at least make it slightly challenging. "You know I told you about that gang?" She didn't, wait for a reply, continuing to lock each window and door. "Well, they weren't-" She stretched for a high latch, clicking it into place and jumping off the chair she was balancing on. "-the only one's who came after us."

She came to her bedroom last. The cell Donny had given her lay on her bed, and she looked at it, undecided. After a pause, she left it sitting where it was- nothing had actually happened yet, and she might just be overreacting. It probably was just a cat, and she'd look a right ninny calling the turtles over just to chase a cat.

Dave yawned and knocked on her open door. "I'm off to bed. It's late. I'll talk to you in the morning. Get some rest." He smiled and left, closing the door behind him. Zanna collapsed onto her bed, grasping the cell under her pillow. Childish, yes, but acting cool wasn't exactly top of Zanna's priority list.

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, calming herself down. She was, actually, very tired, despite the fact she hadn't done much at all. Although her body was fighting fit- bar her arm injury and her recent fall- she was mentally exhausted, and found a light slumber within minutes.

It lasted all of four hours before she was rudely awakened by the sound of crashing glass. She sat up, unsure if the sound was a nightmare or not. It became apparent it was real when she heard Dave's raised voice.

"You little bastard, get back here!"

Zanna was on her feet in seconds, shell cell at the ready, scooping her two remaining shurikens from the pocket of Mikey's wet jeans. She sprinted into the kitchen, where Dave was smashing a glass onto the head of the black-suited figure that held him in a headlock. He was released, and Zanna threw a star at the ninja, simultaneously pressing the speed-dial on her phone.

"Ha!" She yelled as it struck home, then she brought the phone to her ear. "Donny?"

"It's Raph… uh, who is-"

Zanna dodged the blow of another ninja and Dave thwacked the suited shape with the butt of the kitchen broom. "Zanna! It's Zanna, Raph! Those guys are here. From the sew- Agk!" She felt a hand connect with her throat and she stuck her last star into the arm of the offender. She picked up the phone. "Hello?" A dial tone answered her, and she prayed it was because Raph was on his way.

--

Raph kicked his bike into gear and hurtled forwards. No sooner had Donny strapped his shoulder than he'd taken to the streets, as usual. Thank God for his rebellious side, he grinned, revving the bike. He approached the apartment and skidded to a halt, kicking down the stand and dismounting in one smooth move. He leapt for the wall and scaled it until he came to the second floor. He peered in through the window and could just make out the sounds of a scuffle. He smashed through the glass, landing in a bedroom that didn't appear to be in use.

He could hear Zanna's voice followed by the smash of something expensive, and Raph charged out into the hall, sticking a foot ninja with his sai. "Zanna? You right?" He saw the teen dodge backwards and fall over the couch.

"Oh, fuck-" Zanna saw the katana swing towards her head and she scrambled to get free from the couch, but the small coffee table trapped her. "DAVE!" She yelled, shielding her eyes.

There was a clash of metal and Raph's crossed sais deflected the blade. The turtle swung his weapons over his head, locking the enemy sword in a bind as he fell forwards from his lunge, and turned, throwing a dagger into the face of the ninja. "Zanna, take his weapon!" He instructed as the figure fell. The turtle vaulted the kitchen table, landing at Dave's side, and looked at the large butcher knife he was holding. "You know how to use that thing?" Raph asked, his eyes flicking to his left once before he whirled round and plunged a sai into the heart of the ninja behind him.

Dave blinked and indicated the green humanoid with a thumb. "Zanna, what the hell is that?!" There was a note of hysteria in his voice. Whatever it was, it was trained to kill, and Dave wasn't sure he wanted something that could take a life with such ease around the pitiful remains of his family.

The girl picked up the katana and blocking an attack. Where did they come from? There seemed to be an unending supply of the little freaks. "You know those lads I told you about?" Dave looked at Raph and nodded, not liking where this was going. "Well, I never specified they were human lads." Zanna grinned for a second, and then her expression changed as she grasped her katana with two hands in order to block and attack.

Raph flipped forwards towards the window, and threw his sais like a cricketer might throw a spin bowl, skewering two ninjas before they could set foot in the apartment. He recovered his weapons and withdrew, slapping Dave, who was leaning on a chair for support, on the back playfully. "Name's Raphael." The turtle grinned. "Heads up!"

Dave lifted the chair and smashed it down on the ninja behind him. Raph raised an eyebrow. "You watch _way_ too much TV." He commented at the wrestling move.

"Not intentional, turtle-boy." Dave retorted, somewhat more rational that the mutant.

Zanna crossed the room to her brother, and stood back to back with him, realising he wasn't wearing a shirt. Which made her glace down at her own cotton shorts and baggy shirt and blush. "Hey, Raph, where are the others? They're taking their sweet time getting here." Donna called to the versatile turtle.

Raph stopped mid-leap and instead of using his weapons, chose to sucker-punch the ninja he was facing. "Um… I was out when you called me." Raph turned his back on the girl to beat up yet another ninja. "… And I came straight here, so…"

Zanna didn't need Raph to spell it out. "So they're not on their way?" She rolled her eyes and held her katana across her body with one hand, finding Dave's hand and giving it a squeeze of frustration with the other.

Raph thought fast. "Look, my bike's just outside. You guys grab some clothes and get outta here. I'll hold 'em off for a while and then follow you later."

Surprisingly, it was Dave who objected to this. "Mate, there's heaps of 'em. We can't leave you on your own." He dodged a blow aimed for his head, dragging his sister down with him.

Zanna dived for cover beneath the table, lashing out with her katana at the ankles of the ninjas. Raph was pushed slowly towards the table by a black-clad figure. From Zanna's perspective on the floor, it looked more like the turtle was dancing- he stayed on his toes and almost skidded on the tiles as he stepped. She tried not to imagine him with a low pulled hat singing _Billy Jean_… Then he was thrown back onto the wooden surface, and there was a distinct crack as the table gave way from the force of Raph's shell. Zanna rolled out of the way of the falling turtle and held her blade straight up, letting the ninja fall onto it. She could see the shock in his eyes before the life vanished from them. She pushed the limp form off her and pulled out her bloodstained weapon. She closed her eyes and grimaced in a mixture of disgust and terror. She had just killed someone- watched them die in front of her eyes.

Raph blocked an attack for her and slowly pushed her back against a wall, so he could more easily protect her. "Dave, your sister can't handle this, you have to get her out of here." Raph's voice held a tone that wasn't frequently used among his speech. Serious concern flashed in his eyes and Dave nodded, seeing the sense in Raph's statement. Mikey, Don and Leo had been the same. Even Raph had experienced the shock, until a second foe had injured Leo. Then he'd just been pissed with himself for loosing focus. It happened to everyone; some people just felt it more. There was a lull in the fight, presumably as more foot reinforcements were brought in and Raph took the chance to take the stained katana from Zanna's trembling hands and nudge her chin upwards. "Zanna. Listen to me." He said quickly, watching a ninja approach out of the corner of his eye. "I need you to focus here. Go with Dave. Take my bike. Meet me at Central Park, and keep your wits about you, you got that?"

Zanna nodded, taking a deep breath. "O-O-Okay… Dave, bike, Central Park."

"And stay aware. That's the important part. Don't let anyone follow you." Raph repeated. He didn't have time to check her reaction; he stuck a sai out to the side, and ripped it through the stomach of the ninja. "Go, Zanna! GO!" Raph roared, pushing the girl towards her brother.

Dave took Zanna's hand and lowered her out of the window. She let go and hit the ground in a crouch. She stood up, and raced for Raph's bike. Dave followed with a thud and sprinted after his sister. He leapt on the bike first, giving Zanna the helmet. She slid it on and couldn't resist a small smile. There were speakers embedded into the sides of the helmets, and a song she recognised at Fatboy Slim's "Ya Mama" was playing, muffled slightly by the padding inside the helmet and her messy hair. How apt. Dave revved the bike, urging it forwards to no avail. Zanna looked down and kicked up the stand, hanging on for dear life as the bike suddenly shot off.

"Holy crap, this guy's not just tweaked his engine, he's freaking twisted the damn thing!" Dave wasn't sure if Zanna could hear him or whether she really cared or not, but he was impressed. He opened the throttle and ducked down to avoid being ripped from his seat. Zanna followed suit and they sped through the streets of New York towards central park.

--

Back at the apartment, Raph watched the siblings disappear and breathed a sigh of relief. That girl was something. He saw a bit of each of his brothers in her. A quick wit like Donny, a family spirit like Leo, compassion which somewhat echoed Mikey's and a steady confidence to match his own. He grinned and threw his sai, running forwards and snatching it from the body of a ninja as he flew out the window and landed on the opposite building. He swiftly scaled the wall and sprinted across the roof, quickly loosing the ninjas that tried to follow him. He maybe a mutant turtle, but his home was among the rooftops.

Reaching the end of the buildings, he leapt from the roof and sprinted across the road, diving head first into the bushes of the park. He crept through the foliage until he found his bike propped against a tree. He emerged and looked around, searching for the siblings.

A thud from behind made him twirl, sais at the ready, only to find Dave with his hands raised in submission. The sais disappeared in a flash. "You weren't followed then?" Raph checked his bike as Dave helped Zanna down from the tree.

"Nope. That thing is _mad!_" Dave grinned, patting the bike. Raph swept the park with a glance, and, finally deciding it was safe to let his guard drop, talked Dave through the engine specs.

Zanna was less interested on Raph's bike. She pulled out her shell-cell and carefully speed-dialled Donny. He picked up almost instantly.

"A-very-annoyed-Donny speaking. Raph, if you've pulled your stitches, I'll-"

"Donny it's Zanna." She didn't bother messing around. "Can we crash at your place? We've been kicked out of ours. Those guys showed up."

Donny's voice changed, and Zanna could imagine his brow cracking into a frown. "The Foot? Are you okay? You should have called sooner- where are you? I'll come getcha."

Zanna shook her head, even though she knew Donny couldn't see her. "It's fine. Raph's here. We're in Central Park. Just… checking home base." In fact, Zanna wasn't entirely sure why she'd felt the need to call Donny. "Sorry to wake you." She added, realising that although the turtles did train during the night, four am probably counted as part of 'the sleeping hours'.

"Pah," Donny shrugged it off. "Not that I was anywhere near sleep. I'll find you something to sleep on. Is your brother with you? And… how's Raph?"

"Yeah, Dave's here." Zanna took a glance at the two men deep in animated conversation and rolled her eyes. _You know, it was just a near-death experience and all, nothing a jet-propelled motorbike can't fix_… "And they're both fine." She settled with a simple statement.

"Alright then. I'll see you guys when you get back."

"Right-oh. Bye, Don."

On the other end of the line, Donny remembered one last thing. "Zanna- did the foot clan come _before_ or _after_ Raph?" But the phone was dead.

He frowned and thought for a moment. What were the clan doing at Zanna's place if there weren't any turtles to whack? They didn't attack without good reason- they'd either recieved payment, or had a personal vendetta to settle. Which meant that somewhere along the line, Zanna had become involved in something nasty. He slid of out bed, and turned the monitor of his computer on. What had she done?

* * *

So, there's a bit of the violence I promised. Also, I have decided I have a fondness for the word 'apt'. Duzznit just sound awesome!? 

You know, it highly amuses me that there is a genre called "Angst". It just reminds me of a hilarious gag done by the lads at involving a (very well made) puppet Harry banging its head against a wall muttering "Angst!Angst!Angst!". If you're sense of humour is a whacked as mine, you will find it darned funny. Anyhoo, I may have to upload something in a humour/angst genre, just to honour its… uh… odd-ness.

Alright, well, reviews are always nice! (yep, that was my attempt at a wink!) and Chaptah three on its way! (Hurrah!)


	3. What did you do?

**Authors Note:**

Before I start, I would just like to inform you all of a TMNT HORROR I experienced on the weekend. Whilst staying in a (very posh) hotel at the Sunny Coast, (with the delights of FoxTel) I encountered an ad for TMNT Fast Forward during which I sat open mouthed as Mikey uttered (well, yelled) the words "Goodbye nunchakus, hello Mikey-something 3000". WHAT?! What is this madness?! The turtles abandoning their trademark weapons to become half-robot?! Pah! I have lost all faith in the world…

Also, I would like to apologise for how late this is. See, when I first devised the plot, I hadn't really worked out specifics, so I went to read various episode-synopsises (mouthful) to check the details. Unfortunately, there were bits and bobs that didn't quite fit with my initial plot, so this 'everything explained' chapter was revised several times.

SO, I wrote this based on the assumption that the turtles came in existence as described in the original comics and the 2003 show. (As opposed to the 80s Toon). And then I added some extra spiel in there in an attempt to make everything fit in. Let me know if I have edited it in a manner so appalling I need to be beheaded because now it doesn't make sense.

Anyway… Recap-ness:

_On the other end of the line, Donny remembered one last thing. "Zanna- did the foot clan come before or after Raph?" But the phone was dead._

_He frowned and thought for a moment. What were the clan doing at Zanna's place if there weren't any turtles to whack? They didn't attack without good reason- they'd either received payment, or had a personal vendetta to settle. Which meant that somewhere along the line, Zanna had become involved in something nasty. He slid of out bed, and turned the monitor of his computer on. What had she done?_

So what HAS Zanna done?

(I will be the last to know as usual; despite the fact I can control them, the characters seem to run riot behind my back… hmph.)

Better think of something quick! (A very Dave-centric) Chapter three's already here…

Ps. Seeing as I (unintentionally and wrongly) questioned Raph's intelligence in "Mind Games" (which is still on the run- this is just taking priority at the mo), there's more Don/Raph banter inside. Hurrah!

**Disclaimer:** TMNT not mine. (dang)

* * *

Zanna lifted her helmet and passed it to Raph. Dave had sat on the back for the ride home and Zanna had found herself wedged between the handlebars and Raph, balancing precariously in the turtle's lap. And that had been an experience in itself. 

They entered the lair and Raph flicked the light on, yawning widely and stretching out. He made his way into the unlit kitchen and sat down, pausing for a moment to reflect his short time playing the hero. Frankly, he was surprised at himself. This chick beats up his brother and as soon as she calls for help, he's right there. _Not cool, mate. Keep your eye on her._

"You've brought visitors, I see, Raphael."

The turtle nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd failed to notice his Sensei sitting beside him, patiently sipping a cup of what was most likely green tea. Raph nodded slowly, recovering from his shock and watching as Zanna and Dave fussed around each other. Splinter looked at his son with mild interest.

"If you don't trust them, why bring them home?" He asked quietly, correctly interpreting Raph's watchful gaze.

Raph kept his gaze steady and answered in a whisper that was barely audible. "Wrong question- If I brought them home, why don't I trust them?" He tipped his head backwards and his eyes flicked briefly to his Sensei. "I haven't got mad at them yet." He noted with a hint of surprise.

Splinter suppressed a chuckle. "Maybe you are becoming more mature." He suggested teasingly.

Raphael shook his head ignoring his Sensei's jibe, brow furrowed with thought. "Or maybe there are other things on my mind." He wondered aloud, putting a hand on the table and rising. "The foot found them tonight." He added, slightly louder. He didn't notice his sensei's small smile as he walked briskly over to his brother's room and pushed the door open. "Donnie! You have guests."

The startled turtle turned quickly and beckoned his brother inside. He looked nervously at the door, a sure indication he was troubled by something.

"Raph, were you already at their place when the foot came?" He asked, urging his brother to keep quiet.

Raph shook his head, understanding in his eyes; for once on the same brainwave as his intelligent brother. "No- Zanna called me. Do you think…?"

"The foot came for Zanna in the sewers? Which means she, or her brother must have conferred a reason for the attack? Which means they're both involved in something they're not telling us? Not to mention in extreme danger; the girl couldn't handle a street gang without Mikey's help. Yes, Raph, that's exactly what I think."

Raph watched his brother grow steadily more excited about what his was saying, his eyes flashing as if he had a jigsaw puzzle in front of him and he was watching each piece fall into place. As usual, the brainiac of the family had summed up Raph's theory in a single sentence, and then seen the larger picture in much more detail, and was probably about to outline a suitable plan of action.

"So I think we need to have chat. Whatever their reason is, they're either crazy or desperate… or just plain stupid to get in with these guys, and frankly, Zanna didn't strike me as any of those."

Raph couldn't resist. "No, Zanna struck you as being cute." He murmured. His reply came in the form of a sharp punch. Their scuffle was cut short as the door opened.

"Hey guys, gonna welcome us in or what?" Zanna stuck her head into the room, a light-hearted smile playing around her mouth. "Oh, and Splinter's looking for you, Donny." She beckoned the brothers outside.

The turtles exchanged glances and Raph slung an arm around the teen's shoulders, steering her towards her brother and sitting them both down on the couch while Donny held a swift whispered conversation with his Sensei. He joined them in a matter of minutes whilst Splinter glided off to another part of the lair.

"Look guys," Donny began uncertainly, determined not to make eye-contact. "We know the Foot. And frankly, they're not a gang who find random strangers to beat up…"

Raph' frustration finally caught up with him as he realised he brother was about to launch a lecture at the unfortunate humans, and he cut to the chase. "They're targeting you for a reason. What'cha do?" He stated bluntly. Donny looked to the heavens in exasperation. _Honestly, Raph. We're trying to play the 'friendly chat' card here, not the 'Fed-Agent interrogation'…_

Zanna gave the angered turtle a blank look. "_What?_" She turned to Dave, who quickly switched his gaze from his sister to the turtles.

The techie picked up on his unease. "Dave…?"

Zanna studied Donny's expression; half believing this was an elaborate prank. She turned and looked at her brother for guidance, but he wouldn't meet her eye. She frowned. "What the hell is going on?"

Splinter returned with Leo and Mikey, the latter vaulting the couch and landing neatly between Zanna and Dave, slinging his arms around them and grinning like a lunatic. "Good question." He agreed, looking at Don. "What is going on, Donny-boy?"

Don looked at the faces surrounding him and sighed. "Okay, I'll spell it out for you. Those guys who came to your apartment? They're called the Foot Clan. They're trained ninjas, like us, and they only kill if they have a reason- usually money's involved. So here's the biggie: Who wants you guys dead that can't do it themselves?"

Zanna blinked. "Dead? Holy shit…" She took a moment to ponder the statement, and gave a small smile. "You know, I dunno whether to be scared or excited… it's kinda cool to be so important you need killing off!"

Mikey gave her a high five, grinning. Raph slapped his forehead in response.

"Well, that's um… well, it's…" Leo struggled to find words.

"Different." Splinter supplied, his eyebrow raised in interest. "It's a different approach to the situation."

Dave coughed lightly and immediately had everyone's attention. "Zanna, you know I've been away for a while?" The teen nodded, her humour gone and a look of deep concern replacing it. "Well, I've been helping Dad. He got into some trouble a while back…" Dave sighed, unsure where to start. "You know he had a PhD in bio-chemistry, right?"

This time Zanna shook her head. "I thought he worked in construction until… wait- you know where he is?"

Dave winced and ran a hand over his forehead, turning in his seat to face his audience. "Uh… okay, obviously Mum hasn't been filling you in. When Dad left, it was because he'd he was hired by a company in California called TCRI…" Dave stopped as Donny's face lit up in recognition.

The other turtles were quick to catch on. "But isn't that…?" Leo began, looking to his brother.

"…The place where…" Raph continued, also directing his gaze at Donny.

"…THE ALIEN GLOOP DUDES!" Mikey was greeted with Raph's despairing glare as he blurted out the first thing that came into his mind. Naturally, it confused the pants off Zanna and Dave.

"TCRI is the name of the company that produced the mutagen 'gloop' that… uh… created us, I guess. But they turned out to be aliens, and we accidentally destroyed their building..." Donny explained. "…in New York…" He added, with a puzzled frown. "But you just said there's one in California."

Dave nodded slowly. "Yeess..." He murmured uncertainly, and then sighed. "Right. The short and short of it is this: Dad was head of a department that was working on genetics. Fifteen years ago, his team created a mutagen that allowed for cell regeneration in humans. It was entirely for medicinal purposes, and a 'test-run' was to be conducted in the New York branch. If I'm right, it was the second time the two branches made contact. They might have the same name, but it was like they were two different companies… which might explain your uh… alien theory… Anyway, two of three shipments went smoothly, but the third lot never reached TCRI New York, and Dad was held responsible. Rumours had it that it had been stolen by a rival company, and somehow Dad had engineered it- anyway, no one really thought much of it until the California branch began to collapse. Uh- new management is one way of putting it. Actually, the chairman was assassinated and several other high-profile characters disappeared off the face of the earth. Most of the workers went into hiding, not wanting to share the same fate. Anyway, new 'management' settled in, Dad was sought to recreate the mutagen. Of course, his reputation being as bad as it was, people weren't averse to giving away certain pieces of information. Ultimately his refusal to cooperate led to uh…" Dave gave Zanna a sad look.

She swallowed and her dinner-plate eyes became watery. "They killed him, then? Because he wouldn't make the mutagen?"

Dave seemed about to disagree, and then he changed his mind and nodded once. Donny put a hand on the teen's shoulder in condolence, ignoring Raph's quiet snigger. "But what did you have to do if they settled the score years ago? Excuse my insensitivity." He directed his question at Dave, who shook his head.

"No, not years ago, mate. See, he was hired, and then kept under lab-arrest, so to speak. He lived inside the lab, mixing the wrong chemicals on purpose and blowing things up and generally being a nuisance, claiming to have forgotten the correct procedure. That is, until he woke up one morning to find he had company. A fellow from his team by the name of Pete Fartham seemed to have suffered the same violent hiring procedure and was sharing the lab. The two planned an escape- they were going to create a variation of the mutagen, and use it to overpower the guards."

"But it went wrong." Leo noted. Hastily made plans in captivity tended to go that way.

"The mutagen wouldn't work on him though… you said it regenerates human cells. So, when we were exposed, any inhuman organs were regenerated to match yours. Your father was healthy. There was nothing to regenerate. Except maybe a few fat cells." Donny continued his brother's statement, taking a guess at the next sequence of events.

"This guy's good." Dave jabbed a thumb in Donny's direction. "Exactly. Mutagen created, they attempted to alter its properties to better their purpose. But they were caught halfway through… Pete was shot down and Dad made a lucky escape. He's been on the run for seven years. And then two moths ago… they found him."

Mikey's eyes widened. "He was alone in a lab for eight years? What a drag!"

Donnie looked as if about to argue, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Raph which quite clearly said: _Yes, it'd be a drag, Donnie. Even for you._

"Okay… so why haven't they called it quits?" Leo's brow furrowed.

Dave answered by reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a vial containing a bright green plasma-like liquid. The mutagen.

"Right. It all makes sense now…"

The turtles exchanged satisfied nods, looking to Splinter to make sure he, too, accepted the explanation. The old rat raised a single eyebrow. "So what exactly is planned for the mutagen if you were to turn it in?"

Dave rolled his eyes, realising he hadn't made himself clear. "Well, take a look at yourselves. No offence, but you'd win a couple of selfish gits a Nobel Prize. The plan is this: find an animal, mutate it, push it to its limits. Once the test subject's gone, they find another- and who knows what they could do with a mutant like you guys at their command… Not to mention they're more than interested in what became of the New York shipment." He added, bringing a frown to Splinters face.

"Do you know the name of the person heading this organisation?" He asked, concerned.

"Sure- but it probably wouldn't mean much. He's a guy by the name of Brent Strethmond." Dave stopped at the turtles' reaction.

Leo frowned, Mikey looked apprehensive, Donny snorted in distaste and Raph gave a grim smile at the prospect of a new enemy.

"Well, you're right about that one. Never hear of 'im." The rebellious turtle commented.

"I have. Head of Streth-Corp, right?" Donnie asked.

Dave nodded. "That's the one. Bit loopy. Great scientist. Well-known guy, too, which is a pain in the ass to say the least."

Zanna turned in her seat. "So you know him then? Can you beat him?" She stopped and looked down, biting her lip. "Sorry- that came out wrong… I meant have you- can you- y'know?"

Raph grinned. "Hell yeah." He slapped Mikey on the back, and the youngest brother brightened. "Piece of cake. Ain't that right, Mikey?"

"Sure thing… if you count a well respected madman with the entire foot clan at his disposal a piece of cake. Then sure. Easy as pie." The turtle's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Yeah, well…" Raph deflated, loosing his motivation like gas from a leak.

"But we'll try." Leo put in, smiling at the teen and clapping Dave on the shoulder. "There's nothing like a friendly reunion to set things straight."

Dave grinned. "Thanks, guys." He looked to his sister, who seemed a little more than apprehensive. "Zanna? You okay? Well, I mean obviously not… it's not the best way to let you know Dad's gone, but…" He abandoned his speech to give his teary sibling a much-needed hug.

The turtles immediately vacated to the kitchen, leaving the two in peace.

"So you reckon we can take 'em?" Mikey asked. He addressed no one in particular, but Leo felt as though he should reply, and formulate a plan.

"Yeah, Mike. No worries. We've done the foot front, back and sideways. They're no biggie. So guys. Action time. Whadda we gonna do?"

Donnie slapped the table with his palm. "We're gonna find our way to Strethmond. I'm guessing that his TCRI enterprise is a quite side business he'd rather keep secret. Which gives us two advantages: one, we know he'll be at Streth-Corp, and two, we have a bargaining chip."

Leo grinned. Having a logical brother was always a plus. Raph leapt onto the table and sat facing Don. "Okay… so, genius, can we get in through the basement?"

Donnie raised an eyebrow. "Well, it would be difficult considering Streth-Corp has the best technology I've seen in a fair while and last time we broke into TCRI, we found scary robots, Splinter in suspended animation… transportation to another galaxy… Utroms… any of this ring a bell? I'm guessing the whole structure will be kitted with top-notch gear- vibration sensors, laser alarms, pressure poi-"

"Donnie, shut up and answer the question."

"Yes, Raph. I can get us in through the basement." Donnie stressed the 'I' and grinned a challenge at his brother. "Give me an hour to do some research, we'll find the site, I'll have a look around, trip some sensors, work my magic and hey presto! You got yourself someone to fight." A knowing wink escaped the brainy turtle and he motioned for his brother to continue.

Raph took the challenge readily. "And once you've done that, give me five minutes to finish off the guards, I'll work my way to the top floor, turn the lights out for Streth-dude and hey presto, you got yourself a hostage."

"And I'm assuming that you'll be relying on me to short-circuit the other security measures while you 'work your way up', eh?"

"Ah, see Donnie, that's where stealth comes in. Y'know… that trademark ninja thing?"

"It's no good being a shadow if shadows can be seen, buddy."

Raph would have replied if Leo hadn't stopped the two from continuing their banter by shoving him off the table. "Cool it, guys. The last thing we need now is you two at each other's throat."

"Yeah!" Mikey chipped in. He flicked Leo an innocent look and grinned, ruining it. "Besides. We all know I'll be the one showing you up!"

The turtle had to move fast to avoid being skewered by Raph's sai.

* * *

Wanted: 

Questions,

Comments,

Death threats…

…REVIEWS!


	4. Break In

**Authors Note:**

OKAY! Long chapter ahead (sorry for the slow update, I've been in England to see the folks for a month)

Okay… to recap:

_Dave nodded slowly. "Yeess..." He murmured uncertainly, and then sighed. "Right. The short and short of it is this: Dad was head of a department that was working on genetics. Fifteen years ago, his team created a mutagen that allowed for cell regeneration in humans. It was entirely for medicinal purposes, and a 'test-run' was to be conducted in the New York branch. If I'm right, it was the second time the two branches made contact. They might have the same name, but it was like they were two different companies… which might explain your uh… alien theory… Anyway, two of three shipments went smoothly, but the third lot never reached TCRI New York, and Dad was held responsible. Rumours had it that it had been stolen by a rival company, and somehow Dad had engineered it- anyway, no one really thought much of it until the California branch began to collapse. Uh- new management is one way of putting it. Actually, the chairman was assassinated and several other high-profile characters disappeared off the face of the earth. Most of the workers went into hiding, not wanting to share the same fate. Anyway, new 'management' settled in, Dad was sought to recreate the mutagen. Of course, his reputation being as bad as it was, people weren't averse to giving away certain pieces of information. Ultimately his refusal to cooperate led to uh…" Dave gave Zanna a sad look._

_She swallowed and her dinner-plate eyes became watery. "They killed him, then? Because he wouldn't make the mutagen?"_

…

"_Yes, Raph. I can get us in through the basement." Donnie stressed the 'I' and grinned a challenge at his brother. "Give me an hour to do some research, we'll find the site, I'll have a look around, trip some sensors, work my magic and hey presto! You got yourself someone to fight."_

Okay, so that wasn't a small recap of that last chapter… it was all kinda important. Anyhoo, that last bits pretty much setting you up for this Chaptah! Let's go!

**Disclaimer:** TMNT ain't mine… but Zanna, Dave and Strethmond are. Wo0t!

Ps. Interesting (but not really) fact: Brent Strethmond was very nearly called Desmond Strethmond. Just because it sounded funnier. I'm sure you all learnt heaps from that.

* * *

Donnie leaned back in his chair, a content smile playing around his features. April O'Neil grinned at him, and the two exchanged a high five.

"Job well done, I'd say." April said with an approving look at the three dimensional blueprint they had constructed on screen. Streth-Corp, for all its technological glory, had underestimated a very powerful resource: the internet. The two programmers had spent the last five hours conducting image searches of the building, and had been lucky enough to find a copy of its structural layout. Donnie reasoned that this was unlikely to be accurate, but the two matched it up to various other images and had constructed a model from their findings.

Mikey wandered in, twirling Raph's sai with an obviously put-on absent air. From behind him came the annoyed ravings of a ninja without his weapons, which were cut short by the sound of smashing pottery, closely followed by a reprimand from Splinter. The orange banded turtle stashed the weapon as the rat's head appeared round the door.

"Michelangelo, have you seen your brother's sai? Only I would prefer to keep the little crockery we have left in one piece."

Mikey turned and shook his head innocently. "Not seem 'em anywhere. Did he lose them while he was out?"

Splinter shook his head, puzzled, and withdrew.

Leo and Casey had accompanied Zanna and Dave back to their apartment to pick up a few necessities, having come to a unanimous decision that their home was now a danger zone, and that the two humans would now be living in the turtles' lair. Raph had offered to come too, only his sai had mysteriously disappeared…

Donny raised an eyebrow at his mischievous brother. "You are so dead when Raph finds you with that." He commented lightly, his attention back on the computer.

Mikey leaned over Donnie's shoulder. "Mm-hmm." He said, squinting at the screen. "Excellent stuff there, Donnie. I see you've collected a decent amount of raw data and transposed it into useful information." He said, making his brother turn.

"What? Did you just say 'raw data'?"

"No, I said…" Mikey grinned and tossed the sai into his brother's lap before cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, "I FOUND YOUR SAI, RAPH!"

Donnie looked from his lap to his retreating brother and sighed, realising he'd been duped again. "Bugger."

---

"Are you ­_sure_ you don't want me to drive?" Dave asked again as the VW van skidded around another corner at breakneck pace. He was gripping the edge of his seat tightly and his face was an unhealthy shade of grey.

Casey took a hand off the wheel to give a thumbs-up, making Dave's eyes grow wide. "Positive." The vigilante replied, grinning. "We wanna get in and out as fast as we can. Ain't that right, Leo?"

The turtle slapped Dave on the back. "Sure- just relax, mate. He's not gonna crash." Casey demonstrated this by swerving to narrowly avoid a stray cat that had darted from under a nearby car. "See?" Leo added, with a sheepish grin.

Zanna wound the window down and stuck her head out the side, letting her short hair whip out behind her.

She was quickly seated again as Casey pulled the van into a wheelie to tackle the next corner. She recognised her street and called for a halt, and the four occupants fell forward in their seats before regaining an upright position as the brakes were slammed on.

Dave shakily undid his seatbelt and leapt for the van, heading towards his building. He unlocked the door quickly and headed up the stairs, leaving his sister and their guard to follow him up.

Zanna rolled her eyes at the two men escorting her. "He gets motion sickness." She explained, showing the way into her home.

Sure enough, when Zanna passed the bathroom on the way to her bedroom, Dave was by the loo, emptying the contents of his stomach. She looked away in disgust and pushed her bedroom door shut to get changed. She'd been wearing a pair of khakis and a shirt leant to her by April in the two days following Dave's confession, but they were ill-fitting and Zanna was happy to slip on a pair of jeans and a woollen jumper more suited to her willowy figure. Once dressed, she began heaping clothes from her floor and drawers into whatever bags she could find. "If you two want a cuppa, there's teabags and sugar in the jars by the kettle. Milk's in the fridge." She called to Leo and Casey, who waited patiently in the hall. "Help yourself." She added, hearing no movement.

Dave emerged from the bathroom and Zanna joined her companions in the kitchen while she wanted for her brother. She let her eyes survey her home briefly. The table was still broken and bloodstains were still flecked around the carpet, pooled in areas where their enemies had fallen. Zanna's brow furrowed. Yes, there was blood… but no bodies.

"Oh, er… when Raph and I went for that walk last night… we, er… cleaned it up a bit." Casey admitted, rubbing his neck with slight embarrassment. "We smashed a window to get in though… hope you don't mind."

Dave caught Casey's words as he walked into the kitchen, rucksack on his back. "Cheers." He said, nodding gratefully at the vigilante.

Leo poured the rest of his tea down the sink, and rinsed the mug, leaving it upside down next to the sink. He smiled at the two. "Ready?" He asked. Zanna could tell it wasn't just an 'are you packed?' kind of 'ready'; it was more the 'are you ready to leave your home and go into hiding with five mutants and those two people you only met today?' variety.

Zanna took one last look at the place where she had found her mother, and nodded, blinking her eyes dry again. She was determined not to cry. At least, not in front of these guys. "Ready." She replied, fixing her posture and composing herself, as if the word gave her confidence.

"Okay then, let's move."

Dave gulped. Another ride from hell.

---

April cleared her throat for attention. Getting no response, she tried again. It became obvious she was being ignored. Somewhat annoyed, she yelled for quiet. "Oi! Listen up!"

Seeing her struggle, Mikey solved the problem by simply standing up and pointing towards the door. "PIPE BOMB!" He yelled, and absolute silence followed. "There isn't really," He added sheepishly as horror appeared on everyone's face. "Just wanted you to shut up…"

Before he could be speared by any sharp objects, April took the floor. "Right. Here's the plan. Donny and I have constructed a model of Streth-Corp." On cue, Donny brought up the image onscreen. "We're going to breach the highlighted entry points," several locations on the building pulsated red, one of them half-way up the building, "in four teams of two- I think Leo has something to say there."

The turtle nodded and stood. "Don, April- you guys take the techies. Raph and Casey, you got yourselves the muscle." At this, the vigilante flashed the turtle a manic grin and cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Zanna and Mikey, you two take the basement in from the right, and Dave will come with me."

Dave looked at the map. "We're getting in… on level fourteen…?" He blinked and recounted the floors.

Leo's brow furrowed. "You have vertigo?" That was the last thing he needed.

Thankfully, the human shook his head. "No- I'm just not fit enough to climb the outside of a building. And certainly not to level fourteen."

The leader let out a breath of relief, and his eyes sparked knowingly. "Who said anything about climbing?" He asked with a small smile.

Donnie rose from his chair. "The plan will work in stages. First, April and I will set up base camp in the sewers here," One of the red lights indicated the position on the blueprint, "and we'll hijack their systems. That could take anything from half an hour to five hours, depending on their encryptions. Anyway, we'll deal with it. When we're good to go, Mikey and Zanna will enter the building through this chamber here." A beacon several meters below the 'base camp' signalled their entry point. "The base camp is level with their CPU. They have six basement floors, and you'll be entering from what used to be their seventh. And you'll be making lots of noise, to draw security into the lower levels." Donnie explained, seeing the confusion on the faces of his audience. "Raph and Casey will arc around the building, entering on basement floor one, trapping the guards underground. April and I will join you as soon as we can. Leo and Dave will then take the gliders to the top floor and make their way up to the personal living space of Brent Strethmond. Got it?"

The audience on the couch nodded in unison. And then Mikey piped up. "Sure. But what do we do with Strethmond when we got him?"

There was a silence broken only by the sound of Raph slapping his forehead in despair. And people wondered why he was so messed up.

Leo looked to Dave. "I thought you might have something planned for that part." He said, and his voice told the human that an assassination wouldn't be an unreasonable request.

"Oh, I don't think we need to knock him off… I'll just give him something to remember me by and leave it at that." Dave winked at the turtles.

"Ready to go, then?" Casey asked, standing. He grabbed his golf bag of weapons and slipped his mask over his face.

Don handed out Shell Cells, warning each group to keep in contact or else. Splinter beckoned Zanna and Dave to him and handed them each one of Leo's old katanas and a sheath. "Do not break these." He warned sternly. "I hardly advise you to fight trained professionals at all, let alone take ninjitsu weapons with you. But apparently it is necessary." It was obvious that Splinter was reluctant to part with Leo's swords, but he did so, and he put a smile on his face to go with it.

Zanna bowed to him, copying the movement the turtles used to greet their sensei. "Thanks." She said, straightening. "I know how much these mean to you." She smiled gently and the rat sensei tipped his head in acknowledgement.

Don passed Leo his cell, but put a hand on his brother's shoulder, indicating he wanted a word. "Leo, I still don't understand why Zanna couldn't have done the security checks with me." Donnie's low voice did nothing to hide his annoyance. "April's a much more capable fighter, and Zanna knows what she's doing with computers."

Leo looked his brother squarely in the eyes. "I don't want any distractions on this job." He said bluntly.

The intelligent turtle raised an eyebrow. "Leo, you know damn well I wouldn't-"

"I'm talking about her. I'm not blind." The blue-banded turtle couldn't help grinning at Donnie's indignant face.

The technical turtle would have replied with some choice words had Splinter not walked towards the group, and offered his blessing to all. "Be careful. Be silent. Make wise choices. And call me if anything happens- anything at all, no matter how insignificant."

Leo nodded. "Don't worry, we will." He beckoned the crew, and led them into the sewers.

---

"Donny, I'm in!" April looked up from the laptop, but her fingers continued to run over the keyboard.

"Me too." The turtle leaned back slightly in his camping chair and called to Leo, who had almost fallen asleep. Three and a half hours of intense programming had that affect. "Leo, we're in. Wake everyone up, why don't you?" He turned back to the screen and dictated a programming sequence to April.

Raph swung from the pipes above them, pulling a few chin ups to warm up before dropping catlike to the floor. He grinned and nodded to Casey, and without warning they both fell to the floor, starting push-ups. "Fifty for fifty." The turtle started the betting low.

"One hundred for two." Casey took one hand off the ground to pull his mask over his face, keeping the push-ups going.

"Aww, c'mon, Casey. _Challenge_ me. Three hundred, one hand, for four hundred." Raph grinned, knowing full well the two didn't have a spare four hundred dollars between them, but he put a hand behind his back anyway, and Jones followed suit.

"You can pay me out of the monopoly set." The human smirked, his voice muffled slightly behind the mask.

Zanna raised an eyebrow. "Hope I don't have to race you like that." She said, nudging Mike's shoulder playfully. The gleeful turtle winked and casually strolled over to the two muscles on the floor, coming to a halt between them and surveying them with a mischievous grin, as if choosing which one to sabotage first.

Raph looked like he was winning. Mikey nudged his brother's hand with his foot and pushed slightly, forcing the turtle to take his hand off the ground and jump it to the other side of Mikey's foot. Raph regained his balance and began recovering his lost pushes, but Mikey wasn't having any of that. He pushed against the other side of Raph's hand, and once again the burley turtle jumped over the obstacle.

The red-banded turtle raised his eyes slightly and looked at Casey. "Count yourself lucky you don't have a little bastard like this one for a brother." He said, with only the hint of a strain in his voice. Mikey tripped him unawares, and Raph had to switch hands quickly to avoid falling and loosing the bet. Even if it was only monopoly stakes.

"I get to switch hands too, then." Casey spat, just about getting the words through his clenched teeth. He changed hands gratefully and redoubled his efforts.

Leo hung over Don's shoulder. "When can we go?" He asked, interested now he had woken himself up.

"Just as soon as I take control of…" Donny hit several keys at once and beamed. "Any time you like from now."

Leo looked across to April, who had risen from her computer and was strapping on knee and elbow pads. She flashed a grin at him. "Yep, you're good to go." She added with a glance at her screen.

The eldest turtle collected Dave and the two headed down the sewer. They would surface outside a 500m radius of Streth-Corp and make their way to the roof of a nearby building where they could launch the gliders at Don's signal.

At base camp, Raph finished his three hundred push-ups and he stood triumphantly, giving Mikey a quick smile to put him at ease. The he lurched towards his younger brother who leapt neatly out of the way, pulling in his stomach and ducking his head to avoid Raph's grab. Their acrobatic antics were cut short by Casey, who picked himself off the floor and neatly cuffed Raph as he sped past.

"C'mon, mate. We got positions to fill." He said, dragging the turtle by his bandana strings away from Mikey, who was mouthing something along the lines of: 'I win, sucker!'

The turtle turned to his remaining brother and was quickly engaged in a lecture. He waited patiently as Don twittered on to him out safety precautions.

"… And, Mikey, don't forget that when you're working as a duo you stand back to-"

"Donnie?" The irrepressible turtle stopped his brother mid speech. "You sound like Leo. Shuttup. I know this stuff." He winked cheekily. "Don't you trust me?"

Don gave him a disapproving look. He knew Mikey was joking, but the fact that the thought crossed his mind was still hurtful. After all, fifteen years of living in the sewers with no one else for company tended to bring families that much closer together. "Miiike…"

"Don't worry. I'll bring your gal back in one piece." Mikey words were quiet, but his infallible grin told Donny there was no point trying to deny his concern for Zanna.

Not that that stopped him at all. "Oh, she's not- I don't- we're just- Shuttup, you. Anyway, you gotta go, or you'll screw Leo up for time." Donnie ushered his brother towards Zanna, who smiled reassuringly, assuming that Donnie's apprehension was aimed at the group as a whole.

"Hey- it's a stress-free environment here, Donny." She grinned. "You guys are pros- you'll be fine. And Dave'll know what he's doing. He was on the run for nine months, after all, covering dad's arse…" She stopped and looked away, her face sullen for a moment. But then she forcibly perked herself up, remembering she was supposed to be helping Donnie, and she put on a smile. "Yeah… so, everything'll be good." She finished lamely, the enthusiasm lost from her speech.

Donnie shook his head in wonderment. After all she'd been through, Zanna found time to offer words of comfort for them. He returned her cheery grin and sent her off with Mike, a wistful smile on his face.

April watched him, a knowing shine in her eye. "Donny, you watch yourself there." She said once the pair was out of earshot. "You know you're as good as another species."

Donny turned, eyebrows raised. "Oh, I do not like her in that way!"

April was immediately flustered. "Sorry! It's just Mikey and Raph told me that…" She stopped, Donny's raised eyebrow telling her that she should really know better than to trust some of the gibberish Mikey and Raph spouted. "But I mean, if you don't like her, that's cool!" She added hastily, not wanting to offend her companion.

The turtle grinned, his human friend forgiven instantly. "So when d'you reckon the distraction'll start?" He asked, changing the subject not because it was awkward, but because it had exhausted itself. That was one of the great things about April. She was the first _real_ friend the turtles had had- the only person who was totally empathetic with them, possibly the only one they could talk to and get an unbiased answer out of, apart from Splinter of course. But he was their father- more family than friend.

A message box materialised on April's computer screen, and she checked it with a deepening frown. "It already has." She stated, and her tone invited Donny to look on.

The turtle wasn't confused by many things, but this sure got him stumped. "The hell is going on?"

---

Mikey grinned as he watched Zanna attempt a shaky walk-over. She fell forwards into a neat handstand, and then carefully let one leg fall, arching her back and reaching the floor, ending the controlled flip with a short spring which propelled her upright. "Yeah, now you try." She instructed, satisfied with her small gymnastic display.

The turtle raised an eyebrow in playful consideration. "Now, listen up a sec- are you _sure_ you want me to show you up? 'Cause I will…"

Zanna took his taunting good naturedly. "You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" She replied with a slight smirk.

"Actually, I can." The turtle replied, and he took a short run up before sliding across the floor in a moonwalk, and then falling almost flat on his face, saving himself at the last moment and swinging his legs up in a windmill movement. His break-dance routine was cut short by the ringing of his cell, which he answered after rolling his eyes and striking a suitable pose.

"Stop messing around Mikey." Leo's voice was loud enough for Zanna to hear, and she instinctively looked around, trying to see the turtle.

"But how did you-? You're not-" Mikey's feeble protest didn't last long.

"Because it's you, Mike. Just try not to do anything too stupid." His elder brother reminded him, causing both teenagers on the other end to roll their eyes in exasperation.

"We'll be _fine_." Mikey stressed, exaggerating his words. He took in a breath to continue, but stopped, and instead changed his tune. "Although we do have company." He added quietly, his voice serious and ready for action. His eyes followed the figure of a green-clad human who looked around quickly and darted across a gap in the sewer walls. "Suited figure at two o'clock. The uniform isn't the foot or anyone else I know." Mikey relayed information to Leo and waited on his leader's orders, which came almost instantly.

"Get onto Donny. Relay whatever he says to me and I'll radio all stations. Stay put for now. Did he see you?"

"Don't think so. He's about fifty meters out- just walked… well, crept by. He just caught my eye, through a gap just over there." The turtle pointed out the location for Zanna, who was craning her neck in the wrong direction. The cell vibrated in Mikey's hand, indicating that a second call was reaching the phone. "Leo, I'm wanted. Gotta go." The turtle flicked the line. "Donny? I just saw a third party member go by. Can you get me a lead?"

The intelligent turtle held the phone between his cheek and shoulder, his fingers tapping furiously away at the keyboard in front of him. "Not sure. They've just taken the security from us. Keep low- everything could be active again. They're trying to decode their system so I can't hack back in, but I think they may have underestimated us…" There was a pause as the turtle growled in frustration at the error message on screen. "…or not. Tell Leo to pause the operation- I can't guarantee that if you go in now, you'll get out." Donny's voice was obviously strained- he didn't like being unprepared or unable to complete a challenge when he was faced with one.

Mikey nodded, his face falling. This had been so pipsqueak. And now he might not get the chance to kick butt. Poo. "Right-oh, Donny. I'll tell Leo."

The turtle dutifully hung up on his brother and his phone automatically connected him with Leo, who had been waiting on the other line grinding his teeth almost in time to the elevator-style music Don had installed on his phone, and his phone only, to play whilst on hold. "Leo. Bro. Don's lost security. Get Raph and Casey outta there. Don't do anything, 'cause there's no guarantee we can get control back. These guys might actually be better than Don!" Mikey's voice carried a mixture of admiration and scepticism, a combination only Mikey could pull off.

There was a rush of static as Leo sighed. "Okay. I'll radio Raph… and, Mike?"

The youngest turtle gave a soft moan, expecting something along the lines of 'be good' or 'stay out of trouble'.

"If you see that guy again- I want you to stay low. Make sure you're both safe- that's the most important thing… but if he comes close enough… see what you can get out of him. I want to know if I can trust these people."

Mike nodded enthusiastically, forgetting for a moment that Leo couldn't see him. Then he answered in the form of speech. "Yeah, no worries."

The turtle hung up and immediately beckoned Zanna to him. "Look. Way I see it; these guys just took control from Donny, right? Well that guy's no pushover. If they've got him stumped- they're good. And if they're good, and if they've got us in their target, we don't stand much of a chance, capiche? So I'm gonna go check out the basement- get this over with as soon as possible, and it's probably safer if you come with. You up for it?"

Zanna looked around nervously. "Leo'll be pissed…" She murmured, wringing her hands. Mikey's eyes grew wide and pleading, as a puppy's might when it wants to be cuddled. "Don't give me the eyes…" Zanna looked at him, annoyed and Mikey gave a sly grin, his eyes returning to a more natural size. "What do you plan to achieve exactly by going to the basement?"

"No idea!" Mikey declared triumphantly. "But let's face it, why would the greenies be hanging around Streth-Corp if they weren't trying to get in?"

Zanna sighed resignedly. Mikey had a point. "Mmmmm… okay. We can start at the basement and if there's nothing there, we can just come back here and sit tight."

Mikey acknowledged the compromise and the two headed further down the sewer and promptly came to a dead end. A few of the bricks had been pulled away to form a hole which led to another part of the sewers. The rubble still lay around the opening, and Mikey paused for a short moment to scrutinize the hole and the surrounding area before navigating his way through. He stuck his head around the corner, and beckoned Zanna to follow.

They emerged in a part of the sewers which has obviously been renovated to suit the building above and around it. Pipes and wires ran along the roof and walls, and where the wires weren't bunched, there were huge generators bolted to the sewer walls. Zanna looked around her, eyes wide. She followed Mikey closely, her borrowed katana held light in one hand, poised and ready. The turtle's nunchakus were still in their place at his side, but his hand unconsciously strayed close to them as the youngest brother wandered cautiously down the corridor. They reached the old Streth-Corp basement within minutes, their journey shortened by the hole in the sewers. The door lay ahead of them, and at first, it looked closed and tightly bolted.

Then Mikey noticed the handle was missing, and a small hole previously home to said handle was partially hidden by one of the bolts. He held out an arm and Zanna stopped just in time to save herself from walking into it.

"Trouble ahead." Mikey murmured.

"I know; I can see you." Zanna replied, having not realised the tampered door.

Mikey raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "I'm talking about the door. Handle's missing."

Zanna squinted and realised what Mikey meant. Her grip tightened on her katana and she raised it to her chest in a defensive pose. "Ambush." She breathed, eyes wide and searching.

Mike's normally cheery face was set grim and his nunchakus appeared silently in his fists. "You stay here." He instructed, gently nudging Zanna towards a generator. "I'll have a look first. Here," he handed her the Shell Cell, "if- hide!" Without warning, Mikey pushed Zanna into the gap between two generators and leapt on top of the giant metal oblong, lying flat and peering over the edge. Footsteps hurried towards them, and Zanna pushed herself further into the shadows.

Two people in emerald suits walked briskly past. One, the male, had dark hair which had been shaved into a military-style cut, and the female was blonde, her curls falling delicately down her back. She murmured something to him, and Zanna froze, worried that she might be seen as the woman turned to face her companion for a moment. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, and Zanna couldn't help but feel slightly inferior with her short, straight, dark brown pigtails. He replied under his breath and they broke into a sprint, rushing the door. Calling a count down from three, they hurtled shoulder-first into the door, smashing it off its hinges. No alarms sounded.

Mikey's eyebrows nearly shot off his face. Firstly, he'd never seen a suit so brightly coloured and secondly, he'd never seen a girl with a face like that break down a steel door- not even in the movies. Once the pair had disappeared inside the basement, Mikey dropped down and crept forwards to investigate. He stepped over the door and peered around in the gloom.

He heard a faint gunshot, and a woman's yelp, which told him that the two who had just run inside were unlikely to return. But return they did, sprinting towards the turtle before he could comprehend what was going on. The girl was clutching her shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

"Run!" She yelled, presumably at Mikey. The turtle turned obediently, sprinting out the way he'd just come.

"Mikey?" Zanna's voice made the turtle turn mid stride, and he rushed to her side.

"Get outta here!" He yelled, probably louder than necessary seeing as she was right next to him, but the adrenaline was pumping through their systems too heavily for either of them to notice. She leapt from her hiding place and stood ready with her katana. Mikey sprinted after her, and grabbed her by the wrist, shoving her towards the other fleeing humans. "Can't fight guns with a katana at your level, mate." The turtle explained as they ran. The sound of boost running on brick followed them and they put on a spurge of energy. A muffled shot rang out and a dart flew past them.

"Shit! Tranquilizers!" Zanna gasped, exchanging a worried glance with Mikey. She looked over her shoulder in time to see another dart heading for Mike's head. "DUCK!" She yelled, pulling Mike down by his arm. The dart missed, but the turtle tripped, loosing his footing on the concrete floor. Zanna gave a small cry as her friend went down, but he was on his feet again, and the two rounded a corner. They sprinted down the corridor that awaited them, and Mikey pointed to the right as they approached a t-junction. As soon as they rounded the corner, the turtle pulled Zanna behind a generator, and covered her mouth with a three-fingered hand.

Zanna waited in silence, although her heart was beating deafeningly in her ears, clinging to Mike's arm in a pitiful attempt to calm her nerves. She took deep shuddering breaths which seemed like gale force winds, unable to close her eyes, but unable to watch what was going on around her. Heavily armed security sporting an array of advanced weaponry jogged past the two, and Zanna instinctively tried to wiggle backwards into the shadows. She was stopped by Mikey's firm plastron, and the turtle slowly wrapped an arm around her to prevent her from giving their position away. The slightest movement would attract attention; it was better to be completely still in plain view than be moving in the dark, as Mike had learnt from past experience. The coast was clear in seconds, and Mikey turned the panicky human round to face him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concern smacked across his usually jovial face. "Take a deep breath." Mikey put one hand on her shoulder and gestured deep breathing with the other and nodded encouragingly as Zanna followed his instructions. Her breathing returned to normal and she nodded gratefully, flashing the turtle a small smile.

The two teenagers slipped out from their hiding place and ran back the way they'd come. Mikey slowed to a jog as he looked around him. "I reckon it's that way." He said, pointing ahead of them towards a staircase.

Zanna shook her head and indicated a pathway on their right. "No, it's over there somewhere. I don't remember a staircase."

Mikey sighed and shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm sure it's up the stairs. I'm _sure_ we just came that way." He looked at her and bit his lip. "Are you a hundred percent?"

"Hundred and two." Zanna replied confidently.

"Okay, we'll go your- oof!" Michelangelo jerked forward and reached behind his shoulder. He pulled the tranquiliser dart from his shoulder and threw it from him, looking at Zanna with wide eyes. He pulled the Shell Cell from his waist and tossed it to Zanna. She caught it deftly and rushed forwards as the turtle fell to his knees.

"Hang- on…" Zanna tried to heave the turtle to his feet, looking around for their attacker. "C'mon, mate." Suddenly Zanna stopped trying to heave the turtle up and instead, she encouraged him to move forwards. "You just crawl. That's right… just… come on, Mikey. You're a mutant! Fight it!" Her desperate words did nothing to quell the effects of the tranquiliser.

Mikey slid onto all fours, his teeth clenched as he tried to overcome the drug. He looked up at Zanna. "You wanna help?" He asked, not with distain, but to get her attention. She continued to push the turtle forwards.

"Yeah." She grunted, preoccupied with moving the deadweight. One mutant bag of muscles was a heavy thing to push around.

"Leave me here." The mutant choked. "Take my nunchakus and get the hell outta here." The turtle waved away Zanna's scared face. "You're no good to me dead or hostage. Go on…" Mikey slumped on the floor, curling into a ball, his protective shell covering most of his body.

Zanna gulped and nodded, seeing the sense in Mikey's statement. She bent down and put a gentle hand over his bandana. "I'll come back for you." She said, sliding it off his head. He gave a slight nod and slipped into a drug-induced slumber. Zanna acted fast. She pulled off Mikey's belt and contemplated removing his elbow and knee pads. If he showed any signs of being a warrior, he could receive worse treatment. But then, if he was considered an animal, who knew what was happen. She sighed, frustrated at her racing mind. Not wanting to risk the wait, she sprinted off, leaving the unconscious turtle sleeping like a kid. She blinked a tear from her eye and tried to suppress the bile rising in her throat.

Mikey lay still in the corridor. Five meters above him, an emerald suited woman with blonde, curly locks watched as five troops stationed themselves around the turtle, speculating their discovery. One of them pulled out a Swiss-Army knife and nicked the turtle's cheek with it, spilling blood. Mikey's nose twitched slightly, and the guards moved back, looking at each other, as if to confirm what they were seeing was true. From her position between the pipes and the ceiling, the woman watched as the sentries continued to maim the turtle.

They moved in to cut Mike's plastron, and the woman turned her head away in disgust.


End file.
